Here’s the thing about shame: it binds you, enslaves you, restricts you, limits you, and robs you of the capacity to either imagine or to act. Shame makes believing the gospel impossible and forces us into patterns of behavior that are decidedly un-Christlike.

Shame is that terrible gut-wrenching unchosen feeling that erupts when we feel unworthy, broken, tainted, less-than, or fallen because of something we experience. Our face turns red hot, our stomach churns, we physically or spacially try to shrink. Shame erupts for dozens of reasons (failure, perception of non-compliance, abuse, comparing ourselves, personal weight or looks, etc…), and is deeply tied to our social relationships.